Weekly Round-Up - IRINAS-129: 24-Jun-07
U N I T E D N A T I O N S
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Asia
IRIN-AS Weekly Round-Up 129
18 - 24 June 2007
CONTENTS:
AFGHANISTAN: Bilqees, "I found my daughter's body soaked in blood"
AFGHANISTAN: NGO network raps international forces over civilian deaths
AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: Repatriation obstacles facing key province of
Nangarhar
AFGHANISTAN: Girls fear to go to school after shooting incident
NEW IRIN FILM: Losing Hope - Women in Afghanistan
AFGHANISTAN: Children share the brunt of casualties in conflict
NEPAL: Densely-populated Kathmandu facing increased earthquake risk
PAKISTAN: Maternal mortality in Balochistan nearly double national
average
PAKISTAN: Polio campaign targets 12 million children ahead of rainy
season
SRI LANKA: Conflict zones lag behind in housing reconstruction
SRI LANKA: UNICEF cautiously welcomes Tigers' release of child soldiers
SRI LANKA: Fishing industry still lacks large tonnage boats
AFGHANISTAN: Bilqees, "I found my daughter's body soaked in blood"
"I threw myself towards the car and there in the boot I found my
daughter's body soaked in blood. Her beautiful eyes were open and her
right hand was clutched to her stomach where she was shot. I was told
later that she was shot three times - in the stomach, heart and back."
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72778
AFGHANISTAN: NGO network raps international forces over civilian deaths
A network of Afghan and international non-government organisations
(NGOs) has called on international forces in Afghanistan to do more to
protect civilians in their combat operations.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72838
AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: Repatriation obstacles facing key province of
Nangarhar
"I won't return to my homeland. There is no security there," Quados, 47,
an Afghani, said at his shoe shop outside the Katwai refugee camp in
Pakistan's Balochistan Province. Such sentiments are not unusual amongst
the over two million Afghans living in Pakistan today. If Afghans are to
return to their homeland, much more rehabilitation and development work
will be needed.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72835
AFGHANISTAN: Girls fear to go to school after shooting incident
Maryam, 12, witnessed the assassination of two fellow students in front
of her school in Sadaat village, a suburb of Pul-i-Alam, the provincial
capital of Logar Province, some 30km west of Kabul, on 12 June. The
incident has sparked widespread worries among many parents who fear for
the safety of their daughters at school.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72855
NEW IRIN FILM: Losing Hope - Women in Afghanistan
In April 2007 IRIN Films returned to Afghanistan to report on the plight
of Afghan women nearly six years after the overthrow of the Taliban
regime by international forces. Despite notable achievements in
education and political representation, women still endure chronically
high rates of infant and maternal mortality, growing insecurity and
horrific levels of domestic violence.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72866
AFGHANISTAN: Children share the brunt of casualties in conflict
The killing of children in fighting between international forces and
Taliban insurgents has led to more calls from the UN and human rights
groups for the protection of non-combatants in Afghanistan.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72899
NEPAL: Densely-populated Kathmandu facing increased earthquake risk
Despite being located in one of the world's most seismically active
zones, Kathmandu's earthquake preparedness is low and the lives of tens
of thousands of residents are at risk, according to local experts.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72807
PAKISTAN: Maternal mortality in Balochistan nearly double national
average
For many women in Pakistan's remote southwestern Balochistan Province,
giving birth can be deadly. According to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA),
a woman dies from pregnancy and childbirth-related complications every
20 minutes in Pakistan.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72780
PAKISTAN: Polio campaign targets 12 million children ahead of rainy
season
The government of Pakistan - in collaboration with its partners at the
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) -
launched on 19 June a campaign to immunise over 12 million children
against polio, a debilitating disease mainly affecting children.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72824
SRI LANKA: Conflict zones lag behind in housing reconstruction
Many of Sri Lanka's post-tsunami reconstruction projects face teething
problems, such as the intrusion of wild life and limited water supplies.
In addition, increasing violence in the north and east since late 2005
has brought the reconstruction effort pretty much to a standstill.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72783
SRI LANKA: UNICEF cautiously welcomes Tigers' release of child soldiers
The UN Children's Agency, UNICEF, today welcomed the release of 135
child soldiers by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, but said it was
concerned that many more still remained with the rebels
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72818
SRI LANKA: Fishing industry still lacks large tonnage boats
Two and a half years after the tsunami, and unprecedented assistance
from donors to Sri Lanka's hard-hit fishing industry, some fishermen are
still struggling to fully restore their livelihoods. The government's
Reconstruction and Development Agency (RADA) said that of the over
19,000 boats destroyed by the tsunami, 90 per cent had been replaced.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72857
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